Adam Lombardi

Virtually Affordable Reality, It’s Finally Here!

by Adam Lombardi

The new Oculus Rift goes where no virtual reality platform has gone before

The Oculus Rift is the next generation of affordable virtual reality. It can bring you to foreign lands straight from the comfort of your living room. Want to visit Narnia and be guided by a mystical Lion? Visit friends in far away lands? You’ll soon be able to do this and more.

Oculus Rift will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand straight up.

The content is amazing and the possibilities endless. Of all the virtual reality gadgets that have hit the market in the past five years, Oculus by far has shown the best and biggest variety of VR content. Variety is the key to surpassing the competition paying homage to Facebook’s seemingly endless supply of content (Facebook bought Oculus VR, a small VR startup two years ago in a $2 billion deal).

So whether you’re cruising across the galaxy or playing a modern version of Pong (you can practically feel the ball hit the paddles that are included), this could be a generation-defining experience. So far, by many first hand accounts, Oculus has knocked the socks of all competition including the Samsung Gear VR, Sony PlayStation VR, HTC Vive Pre, Microsoft Holo lens, and many others.

In demos peppered across YouTube and social media, you can view 20 (give or take) demos to play – about half of these use the wireless Xbox One gamepad that’s included with the shipped set, and the other half use the Oculus Touch (a slimmed down controller) for a deeper spatial presence which is set to ship later this year (sorry not included). But like many new games, some are way better than others, and while not all are Rift exclusives, gaming is just the beginning.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company plans to expand Oculus beyond what we’ve come to know of virtual reality:

“After games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face — just by putting on goggles in your home.”

The design is quite nifty too. The Rift has a single display split between two screens, featuring a combined screen resolution of 2,160 x 1,200. The Rift also uses sensors such as a magnetometer and an external Constellation tracking system, which pundits say will provide a better experience than the rival PlayStation VR. The headset also uses HDMI and USB for display and interface connections with built-in speakers for 3D audio. This technology works in tandem to give users an unparalleled sense of audio and visual immersion.

The Oculus Rift is the next generation of affordable virtual reality – and at $599, it’s going to be one of the best consumer electronic values for what you’re paying for.